Falling Leaves For a New Life Chapter 1:12
by AlexanderLuci
Summary: Chapter 1 of 12: A Dry Place Became Our Solace. Modern AU. Eren and Jean, etc are students. Levi and Erwin are teachers. Jean and Eren break up, as well did Levi and Erwin. It's raining, and a dry hut in the park becomes their solace, where they finally get to meet each other. IN THIS SERIES, expect DRAMA. Expect JeanxEren in the near future, ErenxArmin, and of course...LEVIxEREN.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1 of 12**

**A Dry Place Became Our Solace. **

A barrage of knocks clash against a house window, startling the sleeping body of a brunette boy. His room barrens, until suddenly, an alarm echoes into his ears. Finally becoming focus with space and objects, he smacks his fingers against the phone, ceasing the device from further annoyance. The brunette tardily thrust his head from the pillow, a string of drool trying to remain grip to the side of his tan cheek.

"Ern~"

A series of grumbles and moans hollow from his throat, as he rubs his sandy eyes with each damp wrist. His sight remains in slits before they widen their vicinity. As his ears arouse to the knocks against the bedroom window. He consciously turns his head towards the origin of the sound, face flushed with excitement.

"Rain…Rain!-"  
"Oi, Eren! It's 7:15, we're going to be late for school!"

"Y-yes, Mikasa!" The boy startled.

"Shit…"

"Don't you have some project you have to work on with sensei?" The boy muttered, walking down the staircase.

"Rescheduled. Just shut up and put on your shoes, hurry!"

Eren sighs and maneuvers lingeringly each foot inside the pair of shoes. He straightens himself out before he finds himself chasing after Mikasa, for she has already made her way out the door.

"Wait up! Wait up, Mikasa!" Footsteps crashing against miniature puddles.

No response passed her lips, but a stare of warning to catch up.

"Here."

She stops in her tracks and hands Eren a square-shaped furoshiki from her bag, laying against the palms of his hands. A bento box. Thoughts of wonder and confusion beam his mind.

"_What could be inside? Mom left last night, and dad doesn't know how to cook…so…It must have been…_"

A smile creeks the boy's faces, and gratitude passed his lips fluently to the girl. He slides his arm, like a puzzle piece, fitting next to his sister underneath the umbrella.

They arrive to the school's courtyard minutes later, and bells begin to beacon across the property. Cuss words screech from their throats, sprinting to their classroom, forgetting about the rain, forgetting about the umbrella.

"Mikasa! Eren!" A familiar voice sprang out from his desk, concerned as to why the pair are wet.

"You're almost late, thank goodness. I wouldn't want to eat alone again…"

"Armin, we're fine." Mikasa dictated.

"Y-yes. Eren!" shouted the blonde boy. "I recently ordered a new book!"

"Really? What's it about?" The brunette responded, sarcastically chalant about the news.

Mikasa avoids any further harm to her nerves, sighing and finding her seat as Armin excitingly blares out unorganized chunks of the plot. Seconds later, all voices soon became masked by a raven haired man's bellowing, stern voice. Each student makes their way back to assigned seats, organizing and straightening their journals. Eren finds his way to his and relaxes his back against the chair, staring at a broad, slim-but-muscular figure 2 seats up from his.

"_Jean_…"

Jean hasn't spoken to Eren in a few days. No call, no text.

_"He's acting funny…" _The brunette spoke in his mind. But all thoughts came to a halt as his homeroom teacher, Levi, asked for attendance of each individual student. An exchange of names and presents were passed back and forth.

"Eren Jaegar."

"Here."

The hallways barren only to be interrupted by shouts and questions, as students make plans with one-another for the afternoon.

Levi bids farewell to each student rushing out the classroom, only to receive shouts and screams. As he thought that each student has left, he hears a familiar, soft-spoken voice.

"See you tomorrow Rivaille Sensei!"

"Ah, Eren."

The boy's ears wait anxiously.

"Have a good afternoon, and be safe."

Eren smiles and a farewell passes his lips, before a sudden voice enters his presence outside the classroom. A tall, shady figures obstructs his view further down the hallway.

"J-Jean!" A hug follows a shriek of excitement, but no response came from the other.

"Jean?" The boy questions.

"Eren…We-…We need to talk."

"About what?" Ignoring the request, Eren parks his right leg between Jean's, hands scrunching the sides of his partner's uniform, and perking his chin forward for a kiss. But the other doesn't respond, pulling his head back.

Eren's brows burrow into each other, and his mouth become slightly pursed and confused. Silence jointed their eyes, until the tall, slim boy spoke.

"Eren, We need to break up."

Silence rejoiced its way back between them, Eren returning his right leg, spaced evenly next to his left. His head slouches under his shoulders and a shroud of darkness drapes over his passionless, trembling emerald eyes. Sweat streams his cheeks slowly, accompanied by tears.

"It…doesn't feel right. I'm sorry-"

A force mixed with sorrow and anger pushes Jean out of Eren's way, coursing down the hallway, stairs, and finally out the school's exit, into the courtyard. Leaning over, gasp of air hollow in the boy's esophagus and drops of tears disguise themselves into the rain-painted pavement. Before catching his breath, the brunette grits his teeth and runs, with no specific finish, or destination. His only priority is to get away.

Reaching in far enough into the neighborhood's local park, Eren stops due to exhaustion. Tears continue streaming down the boy's face, but he can't differentiate between what's sweat, tears, and reality. His spine spouts his head above his shoulders, crossing each arm across his chest. Tears come to a stop, but sweat and rain still sheet his face and neck. His heart is still heavy, pounding in sync with each split second. The boy's legs begin to cadence slowly on the runway of pavement, neighbored by gravel, bushes, and trees. Leaves hiss to one-another, rubbing against each other as the wind's gust pushes against the brunette, sliding his soaked uniform further up his skin. The sky, filled with ashen clouds, continue to drop of what Eren believes to be memories. As the rain further soaks into his uniform, his heart becomes heavier, sponging up the pain of what he use to call 'Love'. His mind envelopes these memories, striking him down to his knees. Spears clashing against his back makes each breath deeper. Eren's head cocks up, and frames a bench with planks of wood hovering over it as shelter, hidden behind full bushes. He spines himself straight, and begins to walk towards it. As the frame becomes larger, he see's a male oxford, kicking with seconds of time. The brunette flinches back, but continues onward for a dry place to stay. Rain continues their journey from the clouds, popping against puddles on the trail. The frame soon becomes a landscape of another bench, sheets of grass behind it, with a vein of water, streaming and bordering the blades of green. All of this, behind a raven-haired man. The boy's face soon becomes flushed with confusion, as his tongue raises a question.

"Sensei?"

The man consciously turns his head over to the brunette, concerned of the familiar voice. His, however, soon becomes shock at the boy's state.

"Oi! Eren!"

The man notices the boy's soaked clothes, and red-circled eyes. He takes off his blazer, spirals it around Eren, and hooks it more securely onto the boy's shoulders. The blazer capes the boy's back, and the man gestures the boy further into the hut to take a seat. Eren sits down next to a grocery bag, and notices the beer cans that fill inside of it. The man sits on the other side of the pile of aluminum, and motions his hand for a can. He snaps the beer open, but before taking a sip, he scouts over the tan brunette, to see a face flushed with concern at his teacher's current actions.

A chuckle spat from his lips. "You shouldn't be out in the rain, you'll catch a cold."

"Stay here, until the rain stops. Wouldn't want you to miss tomorrow's math quiz. I'll call your parents and let them know." Searching inside his bag.

The brunette responds in shame but his heart no longer felt so heavy, instead, light. Sorrow no longer anchored his shoulders to slouch, for they have rejoiced their posture. The scent of sharp, cheap cologne of Levi's blazer entering the boy's canals. The rain was no longer grievous, for they have stopped dripping the memories that Jean and Eren shared. The storm within Eren's mind became lull, rays of light tearing through the clouds of confusion and anguish. But his eyes and the end of his lips still remain heavy, and a pounded red.

"Thank you, Rivaille Sensei-"

"Oi, Eren. Out here, just Levi."

The brunette nods in agreement, then crooks his head down and stares gloomily to the dry, ashen pavement beneath him. Rain accompanied the silence between both Eren and Levi.

The raven-haired man takes a large gulp of his beer, then chucks a sigh out of his mouth.

Chapter 1 of 12.


	2. Chapter 2: Bench of Memories

An hour has passed, and the pair haven't had a conversation that lasted longer than a rain drop. The Rain continues its journey from the silver linen sky, hissing at each drop on pavement and bushes. Silence has made its way for quite some time now. Eren's gaze still remained deplorably on the dry, ashen pavement his feet rest on, and Jean had begun racing through his mind once more. The brunette's pattern of deep breathing and blurry vision erupted, but holding it back couldn't help. A tear rolled down to the boy's chin, shell-shocked of what has happened earlier.

Laying his beer down, the raven-haired man could see from the corner of his eye, tears exiting from the boy's. His tears came much slower than the Rain.

"What's wrong, Eren?" Levi nonchalantly questioned, eyes remaining at the portrait of bushes, trees, and grass, being blotted by rain.

The brunette realizes his tears and the heavy ends of his lips, and pats himself dry with the shoulder of Levi's blazer.

"H-hey! Not on tha-Nevermind…" Levi stammered, remembering of what he concluded. _Something may of seriously happened to this boy, obstructing his thoughts of moving foward._

_"_Nothing, Sens- "

"Levi…" Eren whispered hesitantly. It felt so strange to say his teachers name outside of school.

"I see." said the man.

The rain settled to its last drop. Without warning, Levi raises and stands, hanging the bag of alcohol next to his knee.

"Hang dry the coat." Levi commanded, making his way out of the hut.

Before being capable of saying anything, the brunette's flushed with confusion of what he should do before the raven-haired man gets too far in the distance.

"_Hang dry…the coat?" _he thought_. _

__Eren's arms cross, hands gripping the collar of the charcoal black blazer.

_"Smells…so good."_

"Eren!" Mikasa squalled

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? What's this? I heard about Jea-"

"Mikasa, please." Eren muttered while taking off his shoes, obstructing the barrage of questions.

"I'm. I'm sorry. There's a change of clothes on your-" But Eren was already heading to his room, coat still latched on his shoulders.

Eren passes by his door and lays his bag by the entryway. He stands in his room for a momentary of time, and then unhooks the blazer and hangs it on his closet door, just like Levi had asked him.

"_I'll return it to him tomorrow_." The boy thought. "Levi…" Eren whispered petting the medium-sized blazer's sleeve.

He looks over to his bed, and sees a cube pile of folded pajamas. The brunette unbuckles his pants, unbuttons his shirt, and pulls down his briefs, followed by sweat pants coming up his thin legs. He pulls the white long sleeve below his sharp chin, and crawls each arm through the sleeves. The brunette then gathers himself in bed, bundling the blankets over him. The knocks against his windows had stopped, but balls of light begin floating beneath the skyline. His eyes begin to heavy, staring at the little dancing balls of light, but before falling asleep, a name came across his thoughts.

"Jean."

The brunette slouches up, his vision focusing onto his sister standing over his bedside.

"I told mom and dad, before they left for work, that you aren't feeling so well, and that's why you missed dinner last night."

"Feel better, okay? I have to go, and I'll deal with that bastard."

"Mikasa." Eren provoked, obstructing the thought of that.

"It's fine. Please don't."

Sighing, she nods her head in agreement to her little brother's request. Mikasa makes her way out of the bedroom and bids farewell before shutting the door behind her. Her footsteps bellowed down the stairs into Eren's doorway, until becoming phantomed as she leaves the house.

Eren pulls his body more forward off the bed, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"_I dreamnt of you, haven't I?_" He questioned.

Turning his head to his window, he can the sun being sheathed by the clouds.

Immediately after his ears arouse to the sound of being alone, Eren gets dressed in his casual wear and bundles the blazer into his school bag. Storming the stairs, sliding each foot into a pair of sneakers, and heading out the door. The boy's running against head wind, pushing the strands of brown that made a mass of brunette hair. His pace quickened at the sight of a park's entrance getting closer. The boy's thin arms pumped harder, his bag bumping against his back with each few strides. Levi's name kept replaying itself in the boy's mind while he entered the park. He further cadenced down the runway of pavement until coming to a halt when he reached the same hut, the same bench, the same dry place where they met. Everything surrounding it is still damp from yesterday's storm, and no grievous rain proceeded onto Eren's shoulders. The same portrait of a raven-haired man with his beers, remains from yesterday.

"Levi!" The brunette panted, obstructing the man's alarming shout.

Taking his turn, Levi stands up shocked. "Eren! Aren't you suppose to be in school?-"

Questions and answers were cut off with a hug, arms loops around each others backside, exchanging smiles with one another.

"I guess we're both hurt pretty bad, huh?" Eren suggested.

"Yeah…" Continued Levi.

"Tell me Eren," Gesturing the boy to let go of his squeeze around the man. "What happ-"

Reaching inside Eren's bag, the boy brings out a balled up coat, breathing heavily through his nose. "Levi, here."

"What happened?!" The man demanded.

A smile cracked the boy's blushing cheeks, holding up the wrinkled, medium-sized, charcoal blazer.

"Keep it." Levi sighing a proclaim, pushing the ball away with the palm of his hands, before immediately being squeezed again by the boy's arms, feeling Eren's warm, heavy breaths against his neck..

"Thank you, Levi." Eren whispered.

Levi's eye lids flinched back, widening his eyes, before they sealed, giving the boy an unconscious smile of gratitude. Words echoe into his ears

"Thank you." The boy repeated. The smell of booze mixed with the same scent of cheap cologne entered the canals of his nose.

"You can stop that. Sit down." Levi dictated, motioning the boy back into the same spot he sat the day before.

Eren sits down next to the same sac of beer he saw yesterday. As he did before, the man settles himself on the other side, grabbing his before maneuvering himself comfortably on the metallic, spray-painted, black seat. After a sip of beer, Levi leans his elbows above his knees, and he dares to pop the question.

"Tell me the truth Eren."

"About?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

The boy's eyes reach down the same pavement his feet tapped on yesterday. The birds chirping represented each second of Levi waiting anxiously for Eren's answer.

"Jean."

"Jean?" Levi asked. "What about him?"

"We…Broke up."

The man's eyes of concern began smiling. A long, lengthy breath came from his sharp, pale nose, before the chain of silence broke from the cans of beer shocking against the pavement beneath them, as Levi's hands reach over and caressing on the boy's soft, damp, hairless cheeks. Eren's face of confusion and slit-open lips soon became flushed, when the man's face inches closer. Inches became centimeters until the memories of Jean and Erwin were sealed in the back of their minds with a kiss.

Eren's tan face became painted with red, and his red-pounded eyes shut themselves as the man tilted his head, reaching deeper inside the boy's mouth. His arms scout the air and find themselves around Levi's back.

"_He's so small…_" The boy's mind viewed, locking the hug by intertwining his fingers.

Pulling away, the boy gasped, "Levi, what are we doing." before being shut up-ed with another lock of the man's lips. The keys to both Jean and Erwin were thrown into the abyss of their minds, for a new key has been forged between them.

"I don't know." Whispered the man, pulling back.

"I love you, Levi." Eren rustled with wind, passing in the gap between their wet lips.

Time seemed so slow, the chirps of birds became deaf to both of them, and the river has lost its melody as their lips find their way to each other again.

Levi let go of Eren's mouth, and peaked his inside the boy's ears. "Thank you for giving me a new ground to walk on."

"Thank you, Levi." Eren repeated after the man.

Both were hurt, but finding each other, they became each other's solace, giving each other a new ground to stand.

They spend the rest of their day off at the park, exchanging gestures of passion to each other, and filling the space between them by locking each others hands.

"_I love you_." The pair thought separately.

The sac of beer was left behind.


End file.
